Siege of Gamla

The Siege of Gamla was fought from 66 to 67 AD during the First Jewish-Roman War. A force of 60,000 Roman and Judean soldiers under King Herod Agrippa II and the Roman general Vespasian took the Jewish city of Gamla after a seven-month siege, and all 9,000 of its inhabitants died.

Background
In 66 AD, at the start of the First Jewish-Roman War, the Jewish rebel leader Josephus fortified the town of Gamla (so-called because of its resemblance to a camel) in the Golan Heights, making it his main base in the region. It was only one of five cities in the Golan Heights or Galilee to stand up to the Roman general Vespasian's legions, being influenced by the influx of Jewish refugees from other rebel settlements. King Herod Agrippa II, the Roman puppet ruler, and the Roman general Vespasian laid siege to Gamla with 60,000 men from 66 to 67 AD, hoping to eliminate the Jewish base.

Siege
The 9,000 Jewish insurgents held out for seven months, and they hoped that fellow Jews from Babylon or reinforcements from Rome's enemy, Parthia, would intervene. The Roman attempt to take the city with a siege ramp was repelled, and, when the Romans managed to breach the walls, they were forced to fight in cramped streets and thrown back by a counterattack. The Romans attempted to retreat over the roofs of houses, but the roofs collapsed under their weight, killing many soldiers and forcing a rout. However, the Romans returned a few days later, and they seized the city. 4,000 of Gamla's inhabitants were slaughtered, while 5,000 died while trying to escape down the steep northern slope, either being trampled, falling, or jumping into a ravine in an act of suicide.